[Insight & Opinion] The Kim Byungki Case and the Unfair Job Market

According to reports, the wife of Assemblyman Kim Byungki was found to have called the Director of Planning at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in the past regarding their eldest son's recruitment process. She reportedly said, "You have ruined a young person's life by failing him in the background check," and, "I felt I had no choice but to call, as I needed a definite answer from you, Director, even if it meant being discourteous." The Director of Planning offered what seemed like a solution, implying a promise of employment: "We will be hiring additional personnel for experienced positions, and I will keep your son in mind." "It will be handled within this year, so please trust me and wait just once more. I will take full responsibility." Several months later, the eldest son was hired by the NIS. Online communities have responded with sarcasm, asking, "What kind of mother calls the Director of Planning at the NIS to complain because her son failed the recruitment process?"

There are also suspicions of preferential treatment regarding Assemblyman Kim's second son's transfer to Soongsil University and employment at a virtual asset exchange, suggesting the use of his father's influence. The controversy over preferential hiring is not limited to this family. The eldest son of Lee Hyehoon, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, wrote a paper with his professor father as the corresponding author and was later hired by a state-run research institute. Lee's third son interned at the National Assembly during high school. The individuals involved deny any allegations of solicitation.

The majority of citizens face fierce competition for employment, which is a life-defining event. However, in a government that claims to pursue equality, the inequality of job opportunities is only worsening. The elite tend to privately allocate scarce job positions to their own family members, alumni, or political factions.

In December of last year, a ruling party lawmaker sent a message to a presidential aide, requesting that a "junior from Chung-Ang University" be appointed as president of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. The aide replied, "Yes, hyungnim, I will recommend him to Hunsik and Hyunji." In March of last year, Noh Taeak, Chairman of the National Election Commission, issued a public apology over suspicions of preferential hiring for the children of senior officials. The controversy over the special employment of former President Moon Jaein's son-in-law at Eastar Jet suggests that corruption in hiring may have reached the highest levels of power.

Inequality in employment opportunities has spread beyond a small elite to society as a whole. In December of last year, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission uncovered 832 violations of hiring regulations, such as arbitrary selection of successful candidates, at 458 public institutions. Some large corporations secretly select candidates from specific departments of top-tier universities in Seoul. According to university information disclosures, five top-tier universities in Seoul awarded A grades to 57-60% of their students. In contrast, most mid-tier universities, which use relative grading, saw the proportion of A grades remain in the low to mid-30% range. Since transcripts do not indicate whether grades are absolute or relative, graduates of mid-tier universities are positioned as inferior to those from prestigious universities in the job market, even based on grades. Public institutions are required to hire 30% local talent, but the quota is not being met ("Local talent quota unmet, but law followed... loopholes in exception clauses," Gwangju MBC).

Pierre Bourdieu's theory of "social capital" and Arrow-Phelps' theory of "statistical discrimination" explain the unfair hiring practices in Korean society well. The elite use their power and wealth to build social capital through personal connections, granting employment advantages to their children and acquaintances. According to the theory of statistical discrimination, a small number of desirable jobs are filled not by individually assessing each candidate's potential, but by selecting based on the average characteristics of groups, such as graduates from top-tier universities in Seoul. Thus, inequality in employment opportunities becomes institutionalized.

If one starts at a small or medium-sized enterprise with a salary that is 60% of that at a large corporation, or as a non-regular worker earning half the salary of a regular employee, it is difficult to escape this situation. Such a job market makes life unhappy for the majority of citizens who graduate from mid-tier universities. Currently, many job seekers are experiencing severe psychological anxiety. If preferential hiring by those in power and structural discrimination continue, the anxiety of young people will reach a breaking point and turn into uncontrollable anger.

Professor Heo Manseop, Gangneung-Wonju National University